Released in 1999 as Warner Bros. brought Pokémon to American theaters, this trailer arrived at the height of a cultural wave few franchises have matched. Built from Nintendo's handheld game and the hit television series, the film promised audiences their first big-screen adventure with Ash Ketchum and his Pokémon companions. For a generation of young collectors, this was the moment the franchise proved its staying power beyond cartoons and trading cards, stepping into cinemas with full studio backing.
This cell preserves a moment from that promotional reel, centered on Ash Ketchum himself, the series' young trainer and the character through whom audiences experienced the entire Pokémon world. Trailer cells like this one were struck to generate anticipation ahead of release, offering a single frame of marketing history rather than a scene from the finished feature. For collectors, a close-up of Ash from this era carries particular weight, as it represents the franchise's original hero at the exact moment Pokémon crossed into mainstream American film culture.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm release print trailer of Pokémon: The Movie (1999).
Gauge
35mm layout with four perforations per frame along both edges; the strip holds three frames, all fully visible.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced, rounded-rectangle shape, cleanly punched with no visible tears or torn edges.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks run between the picture and the lower perforations, with a dashed line above them; no Dolby Digital blocks are visible between the lower perforations.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Light blue-tinted base with a neutral to slightly cool cast; the dye image looks saturated, with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No scratches, cue marks or splices seen at this size; the frame lines look clean.
Picture
Positive colour image; three consecutive frames of one shot with small movement between them, and the animated look is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The optical tracks and the light-blue base are consistent with a 1999 35mm trailer release print, though no edge print confirms the stock.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000070071
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
